California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla grew emotional as he took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to speak about being removed from a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.
During the press conference last week, Noem said, “We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city.”
“When I heard something so blatantly un-American from the Secretary of Homeland Security, a cabinet official, of course, I was compelled, both as a senator and as an American, to speak up, but before I could even get out my question, I was physically and aggressively forced out of the room,” said Padilla on Tuesday. “I repeatedly announced I was a United States senator, and I had a question for the secretary, and even as the National Guardsmen and the FBI agent who served as my escorts and brought me into that press briefing room stood by silently, knowing full well who I was.”
Padilla said he was “pushed and pulled” and that he “struggled to maintain” his balance.
“I was forced to the ground first, on my knees and then flat on my chest,” he added, noting that he was handcuffed and “marched down a hallway” as he asked why he was being detained.
“Not once did they tell me why,” said Padilla.
“I pray you never have a moment like this,” he told his fellow senators. As he concluded his remarks, applause broke out among the senators.
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